Pookster

Hi all

My husband and I are planning a trip to Sri Lanka in August for about 3 weeks, so I have some questions for anyone who can answer them

1) Itinerary suggestions - So far we only know we want to visit Nuwara Eliya and Kandy, but we dont' know what we want to do there. Things we enjoy include, short hikes for amazing views, historical sites, caves, nature/animals (so long as the animals are not being mistreated or used for 'entertainment'), nice beaches. We would prefer to avoid shopping and tourist traps and would rather experience authentic food and culture.

2) Driver - Are we better off hiring one driver for the entire trip, or 'releasing' him for part of it?
- Is it a worthwhile experience to take the train between places, rather than a driver?
- If we have a driver, do we need to stay in hotels and specific places with driver accommodation, or can we book accommodation through other sites like AirBnB that don't include accommodation for the driver?

3) Part of our reason to travel there is to find my biological parents - I was adopted directly, rather than through an orphanage, and only have a photo and a name. Does anyone have any suggestions as to where I could go to make enquiries to try to find them and see if they wanted to meet me, in the safest and most diplomatic way possible? Also is it possible to hire a translator if I needed one for such a situation?

Thank you for your help!

Kathie

Since you are interested in history, plan to spend at least 4 nights or so in the cultural triangle area to visit Polonnaruwa, Sigiriya and the Dambulla Cave temples.

In terms of a driver, I always recommend that people use an agent to hire a driver, as then they have back-up in case anything goes awry. If the car has problems or if the driver isn't a good fit for you, the agency will trade them out. Also, the agency will take responsibility for the driver's accommodations, so you don't need to worry about it. Also, you can release your driver if you are planning to stay somewhere for a while. We didn't release our driver, so read reports of some that did.

You might want to take a train ride - have your driver drop you off for the train and meet you at the end of the ride. A number of people here have done that. We didn't so I can't give you any specifics. Do read trip reports here - go to the top of the page where it says view by country and choose Sri Lanka. Then go down to the section labeled Trip Reports. You an look at those, then you can continue on to more trip reports on the next page.

It should bee no problem to hire a translator. You might even be able to use your driver if you'd like.

I can't help with hoe to locate your parents, but watch for a post from a local, Mohammed, who has been very helpful to many people. I'm sure he would have ideas and information for you.

Have a wonderful trip! We loved Sr Lanka and talk about returning. We were there a decade ago, os I'm sure many things have changed, but here is a link to out photos: http://www.marlandc.com/Sri-lanka-2007 At the top of that page is a link to my trip report here on Fodor's.

Mohammed

Hi,

I would really really like to try and help you. I am a Sri Lankan and have been a regular contributor on the Fodors forum for the past many years helping and guiding many travellers to Sri Lanka. I am not a travel agent. Your personal quest is something that touches a deep chord in me and would like to help you! Please do contact me on "mohammedabidally at gmail dot com".

As for your travel plans/itinerary please note that there is much more than Kandy and Nuwara Eliya in Sri Lanka and also there are no beaches in Kandy and Nuwara Eliya. Also for wildlife you need to go to one of the national parks like Yala or Wilpattu or Kaudulla/Minneriya etc. Horton plains near Nuwara Eliya has nice scenery and is also a good park but sightings of leopard here is rare.

crellston

Kathie has provided some excellent advice. I would suggest that you invest in a decent guidebook, read it from cover to cover with a highlighting pen in hand to identifiy those places that interest you the most. Use that information to approach a Sri Lankan tour operator and ask them to draft an itinerary. We used Reddot who have a lot of useful info on their website but were pretty hopeless as an operator!

Approach several operators for ideas and costs but be warned, none seem to be very good at responding to enquiries. Three weeks is not a lot of time to cover all SL has to offer, so I wouldn't waste any by trying to go DIY on accommodation or travel at any point.

Train travel is an excellent way to see experience the true grandeur of Sri Lanka's scenery. Easily arranged by your operator. We took several trips when there in 2011 details on our trip report @ http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...-and-curry.cfm

Re trying to locate your biological parents. I have no idea how you would start this process but would suggest doing as much research as you can online beforehand so as to hit the ground running whilst in country. I imagine that you are not the first and others may be happy to share the methodologies they employed. Good luck!

Pookster

Thank you all for your help so far.

Kathie - I'm looking through your photos and it really helps give us an idea of the places we'd be interested to see.

Mohammed - Thank you for your care, I'll send you an email soon. We definitely want to see places other than Nuwara Eliya and Kandy, but we aren't sure which places are good to visit yet. Kathie has suggested the cultural triangle, so I'll look into that.

Crellston - Thanks for your suggestion, we'll keep it in mind, but we often prefer to plan things ourselves just to give ourselves control. I'll have a look at Reddot to give me some ideas though!

Do the driving agencies offer accommodation suggestions at all and which agency would you recommend? I've seen both BSL and Camlo Lanka mentioned in these forums.

Which beaches would be the best ones to visit for beauty and where are the best waterfalls located?

Is it completely safe to travel to the north now, or are we better off sticking to the southern and central areas?

Thanks again!

Mohammed

It's quite safe to travel anywhere in Sri Lanka now even to Jaffna etc. Colombo to Jaffna busses run daily especially the luxury night busses are very popular. Also there is an airconditioned intercity express rail to Jaffna which leaves Colombo daily at 0545hrs and reaches Jaffna t about 12.00 noon. It is very easy to make ones own independent hotel/lodging booking today online using sites like booking.com and airbnb etc. For independent travellers this gives much more flexibility and is also cheaper than using a travel agent. Travel companies would be attractive if you take a package group tour on a bus. Driver accommodations are available at almost all hotels.

In August the beach in Trincomalee/the east coast is very good and the southern coast is completely off season so suggest you to plan accordingly.

Suggest something like following for a 3 weeks/21 night trip

4 nights Habarana
2 nights Jaffna
5 nights Trincomalee
1 night Kandy
2 nights Nuwara Eliya
2 nights Ella
3 nights Yala
2 nights Galle

Pookster

Thank you for that information, it is all very helpful in putting together an itinerary.
I've been told that the Perahera is held in Kandy during August. Does anyone know which dates are the best to go there this year to see the festival?

Pookster

I should add, we wouldn't be able to be there for the whole Perahera. I've read online that the dates this year will be July 29th - August 8th. We would probably only be able to make the last few days. Are the events the same/similar on each day, with a parade and such? Or is there a certain day we should try to be there?

Thanks again.

Mohammed

Kandy perahara events are similar each night with a parade of elephants etc, some of the key nights have bigger more colourful parades. Will check to if there is a schedule out.

Mohammed

googled and found this http://www.kandyperaherabookings.com/

Pookster

Thanks Mohammed. I did see that link earlier, but it didn't specify which nights were the key ones, although I can probably assume the more expensive nights are the bigger ones, so we'll plan accordingly. Thanks!